This I Promise You
by CherryBlossom210
Summary: She lived in a big city, but had no future to look to. Himeno was not living her life the way she planned it from the beginning. With no meaning to his name, Hayate took another path from an event that happened two years before and still haunts him everyday. When these two meet, things slowly start to change.
1. Chapter 1: Complicated

This I Promise You

**Full Summary: She lived in a big city, but had no future to look to. Himeno Awayuki was not living her life the way she planned it from the beginning. She was kicked out from her apartment and fired from her third job, her life only ended up in crisis... With no meaning to his name, Hayate Atsuko Kokoro took another path from an event that happened two years before and still haunts him everyday. It drove him away from his family and may have damaged his pride forever. When these two meet, things start to change gradually and hopefully for the best.  
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Chapter 1: Complicated

Her eyes fluttered open to the shining sun rays peeking through the window. She sat up and gazed at the unknown room she was in.

Trying to get up, her legs burned and stung all over, then she flipped the covers over to find her thighs and lower legs wrapped in bandages. "Where am I?" She could only remember that she was in a dark alley, cold, hungry, and depressed, but that was all of the night before.

"It's about time you have woken up." A man with dark blue hair and eyes stood at the doorway.

'He's really handsome,' the girl thought to herself. 'Wait, that's irrelevant right now!'

"Um, where am I exactly and who are you?"

He walked over to the window and opened the blinds. "Funny you should ask. I saved you last night from bleeding to death and I brought you in from the hospital."

"Oh, uhh, thank you... you paid my hospital bill and even took me in to your custody." She tried to get up again but only to meet pain again. "Be careful stupid, the nurse I hired just changed your bandages and the stitches would reopen." He carefully pushed her back on the bed. 'Jerk, he didn't have to call me stupid.'

"Anyways, you haven't answered my other question."

"Oh, it's Hayate Atsuko Kokoro. I'm not really the type to go well with girls."

She blinked, 'Is that so?'

"What's your name," Hayate asked bluntly.

"It's Himeno, Himeno Awayuki. And why did you save me?"

Hayate turned to look the other way. "You just reminded me of someone I knew." He got up and walked back to the door.

'Maybe I shouldn't have asked him that.'

"Himeno, what's your address and number. I'll get you home after you heal up."

'Wait...'

"I...I don't have a home, I was kicked out of my apartment." Himeno looked down at her legs with her calm expression totally being shot down.

Hayate took a deep breath and said,"Look, I am not at all nice in the real world. I will be hostile towards you in the future. You'll have to be prepared for what I tell you or risk getting an earfull."

The pinkette stared at him with confusion. "Why are you telling me this?"

Hayate took the door knob in hand getting ready to exit the room. "I'll let you stay as long as you do what I say and abide by my rules. In the end, you'll have to find work and a place of you own by the end of this month."

"Why are you letting a stranger stay in your home?"

He glared at her, "You want to go living on the streets again?"

Himeno was shook up and shook her head no. "Hmph.." Then he closed the door behind him.

'Well isn't he nice with a hard head?'

_Dream ooooooooo_

_"Wait, please don't fire me! I won't do it again, honest!"_

_"That's what you said last time! Now get out before I get security to throw you out," my former boss yelled._

_I hung my head as I walked out of the door. Working sucks, this was my third job I got fired from... 'I guess working as a stylist's secretary wasn't for me. It was way too much to do and I always kept making mistakes. Plus wearing a long skirt is totally not me!'_

_ So I ripped the bottom part of my skirt and yelled out, "You know what? Fire me, see if I care!"_

_I marched on my way to my apartment throwing my heels into the dumpster. 'Can this day get any worse?'_

_Seeing my apartment door open, I rushed and saw that everything that I owned was gone. The land lord of the complex came up to my from the doorway. "Your payment was due two months ago Ms. Awayuki. You didn't pay rent, water bill, and electric. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you need to pack up your belongings and move out."_

_"What!"_

_"I sent you a notice a week ago that if you didn't pay the bill by the end of this week, we'll have to remove you."_

_"Wa-wait, just give me more time! I'll need to find another job and I can pay them off!"_

_The land lord shook his head, "I'm sorry." Then he walked away._

_'No...' I fell to my knees, 'This can't be happening!'_

_I went to my closet and packed all my cloths in to my small yellow suit case. I took the picture of my dead mother and placed it in my pocket, 'Don't worry mom, I'll find a place for us to stay.'_

_Walking away from the complex, it started to pour down rain. 'Great, just great.' Then I started to run and I felt my feet blistering up after wearing those stupid high heels. Whoever made those things was stupid.._

_I found an alley with an over head where it wasn't raining. 'Let's stay here til the rain stops.'_

_From all the exhaustion I felt myself getting tired and I slumped to the ground really hard. Then before I knew it, I was asleep._

_ Gradually waking from slumber, there was an excruciating pain in my legs and it was too hard to stand. In the corner of my eye, I caught something shining and when I looked that way... it was a knife! A knife covered in deep red blood.._

_ Looking around my surroundings, a pool of blood was seeping from my legs. 'Oh, no! Who did this?'_

_Hearing a ruffled sound, I saw a person going through my stuff and he caught me gazing at him with fear._

_"Oh, so you're awake? I was hoping that little cut down would keep you like that until I was finished," he laughed evilly with a wicked smile._

_"No... why are you doing this?"_

_He picked up the knife and pointed it to my face. "Don't make a sound." He covered my mouth with his filthy hands. Pointing the knife down on my blouse, he tried cutting it open with his dull knife._

_I shook my head too throw his hand off,"Aaaaahh-mmmph!"_

_"Shut up you brat! You wanna get me in trouble?"_

_All I did was nod like a pathetic idiot with no life. "Why you- Gaah!"_

_"Hey, leave the girl alone," an unknown man kicked the pervert away. "Dang it all you punk!" The man lunged forward and the other man dodged his attack and knocked him out with a punch._

_Taking out his cell phone he dialed authorities, "Yes, I got a mugger here in the alley of Akane Lane. He attacked a girl and she's loosing blood."_

_I couldn't make out what the woman said on the phone, but I dropped to the side and everything went black. The last words I heard was, "Hey, hey! Don't quit on me you hear?"_

_End of dream oooooooo_

"Gah!" Himeno sat up quickly in my bed breathing heavily, she looked around vigorously and found herself back in the room in Hayate's place.

She put her hand to her head, "Thank God, it was just a dream.."

"What's wrong!" Hayate rushed in finding Himeno in cold sweat. "It's okay," she took a deep breath, "It was just a dream about yesterday."

"Oh.. I just rushed in when I heard you scream."

"I'm fine... thanks anyway."

"You need something to drink?"

"Water's fine.."

He left for a few minutes coming back in with a cold glass of water. She took a sip as he watched..

"Hey, why are you being so nice to me if you don't really get along with girls?"

"Like I said, you remind me of someone..." He stayed silent for a few minutes

'I shouldn't have asked him that...' Then he broke the silence, "And I never thought of it as being nice to you. I felt sorry for you."

That really ticked her off, "I never needed you to feel sorry for me," she shot back.

"Then I guess it would have been better to leave you dying in that alley!"

A timer just went off in her head, making every vein pop up in her neck.

"It would have been better if I died! I lost my home, my job, and I don't have a family to be with, I have nothing to live for!"

Hayate calmed down and turned his back towards her. 'What am I doing?' Hayate thought to himself.

"You don't have a family," he spoke softly.

"N-no, they treated me like dirt. So I ran away and never looked back," her tears spilled down her face like rivers.

She took her sleeve and wiped her tears, "Why am I telling you this anyway? I just met you and I'm already spilling everything out."

"No." Hayate turned back at her and sat on the bed.

"What do you mean by no?"

"We haven't just met," he came on out, "You and I have met before."

In wide eyes surprise all she could bring out was an answer filled with so much confusion.

"HUH?"

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys... I know what you're thinking.. another Pretear story made by me. I was going to focus on my main two stories, "I Want You" and "Emotions" and PLUS I just came out with another story about Pretear and Facebook. But... I've had this one idea stuck on my mind for a long time and I just wanted to come on out and share it to the world. I hope you guys don't mind. Even if it will take up more time, I don't really care. I love Pretear, so I will write as much as I please. <strong>

**Thanks guys and don't forget to review!**

**CherryBlossom210  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Confusion

This I Promise You

Chapter 2: Confusion

"HUH? What are you talking about?"

He looked at me with serene eyes..

"I remember carrying a little girl with pink hair and eyes on my back when she got lost from her mother."

My felt my face beam up, with my eyes opening wider. "T-that was you?"

**Flashback**

_"Mommy, mommy, I'm scared!" I sat next to a pole balling my eyes out. It was getting dark and I was getting very cold. I thought this was the worst day of my life until he came along._

_"Hey, are you lost," a boy about four years older stood in front of me._

_"Do you know where my mommy is?" I couldn't see his face because the sun was blinding me._

_He knelt down and put his jacket around me. "She's been searching for you."_

_"Ooh.."_

_"C'mon," he turned his back towards me and squatted down."Get on my back, I'll take you to her."_

_I climbed on his back like he said and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Hold on," he said as he lifted me up._

_I could tell he was walking and the movement on his back made me feel calm and safe. The sun was slowly going down and the shine on his blue hair was really pretty._

_"Y'know," he started to speak, "I have three brothers a year older than you and they act less mature than you do."_

_"Mature.. what does that mean?"_

_He laughed a little, "It means to act older." _

_"Oh.."_

_From the way he was giggling, I knew he had a handsome smile. "We're here," he said as he squatted back down for me to get off. I slowly got down and looked at the house ahead. There was my mom and policeman talking on the porch. Her eyes were swollen and salty eyes as if she was crying._

_I didn't feel scared anymore and my body went moving on it's own. I went running up to my mom crying, but happily._

_"Mommy!"_

_"Himeno!" She held me in her arms. "I'm so glad you're okay."_

_"Uh-huh, that boy helped me," I pointed in the oppisite direction. "What boy honey?"_

_I looked out to the street and there was no one there. "He was there a second ago."_

_"Whoever he was, I'm glad he brought back my baby." I felt a little sad that I didn't get to thank him and I never got to see his face. I at least hope that one day I'll meet him again and thank him properly. I still had his jacket on me. I'll keep it for this one memory._

**End of Flaskback**

"You were that boy?" She couldn't get anymore confused than she was now. "B-but how can you still remember something that happened twelve years ago?"

"I had a little thing to keep reminding me of that day."

Hayate walked up to the nightstand and opened the drawer to pick up whatever was inside it. The he held out a hair-clip with a pink tulip accent.

"M-my hair clip!"

"It fell out of your hair when you ran up to your mom. I picked it up and kept it for memory_._"

Himeno couldn't believe her eyes, it was the same exact hair-clip that she had when she was five years old. It seems like he was taking really well care of it. It still looked new for a twelve year old hair-clip.

"Just like that jacket, I kept it too." Then it came to her thoughts, "Huh, where's my suit-case," she started to panic.

"It's under this bed. Everything you own is safe, that dirt-bag didn't take anything."

She gave a breath in relief then she remembered her mom's picture. "And the picture is okay, it's sitting on the bar in the dining room."

'He did everything for me. He saved me when I was five and he saved me now. Is it just a coincidence?'

"H-Hayate, how'd you even know it was me in that alley?"

His face turned to face the window. "You had that same painful look in your eyes from when I first met you. When I saw you in pain in the alley, I knew it was the same girl I saved twelve years ago."

"Hayate..."

"Himeno, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah.."

"What made you run away? I'm sure you loved your mom a lot, why would you runaway from her?"

Noise was only what Himeno heard from his words, hurting, painful noise.

"My...my mom died three months after you saved me."

This caught Hayate's complete attention. "Her body was beginning to become weak and she stayed in the hospital until she died."

Tears found it's way back down Himeno's face. She couldn't help but to cry, it was the most painful day of her life to lose her mom the way she did.

"So after I turned fifteen, my dad remarried the widow of Mr. Nagoya and our families entangled with her two daughters. The oldest treated me like a street rag and the youngest always glared at me and never spoke to me once. I ran away and never looked back. They never even bothered looking for me. It's been two years since then. I bet my dad doesn't even care where I am at this moment.."

As stubborn as Hayate was, he stood up and walked towards the door not looking back at Himeno.

"The past is the past, it's time to forget about it. Never regret leaving your family behind, you don't need them to support you. Only trust yourself and no one else."

Himeno blinked at his bold statement and she watched as Hayate was getting ready to leave her room.

"H-Hayate, did something happen to you?"

She could tell his body was tensing up all of a sudden. He clutched his hand and was getting ready to punch a hole in the door.

"It's none of your business stupid... don't bother me for a few hours," he said when he slammed the door shut.

"Tch," Himeno jumped to the sound of the slamming door. 'What the heck's wrong with him?'

"Pssh, I don't need to bother him anyway." Himeno carefully set the glass on the night stand and slipped back under the covers.

Slowly the hours go by as the second hand ticks time away. The sun burned over to the west and the night finally claimed day. As it set to it's own display of gleaming stars with the shining moon hovering in the sky, all Himeno did was sleep and eat the whole day, but the main problems she had was going to the bathroom. It wasn't really pleasant trying to get up by herself and crawl to the hallway bathroom.

"What the heck are you doing?" Hayate leaned against the wall, watching Himeno squirm on the floor in the hallway. "What does it look like? I'm going to the bathroom."

"Well, you're not going to accomplish anything by dragging your body on the floor like a little worm."

"Oh now I'm a worm, what are you going to call me next? Retard, chicken legs? Give me your best shot!" She glared at him from the floor and looked like she was ready to pounce on him.

"Oh no, you're not skinny worthy enough to be called chicken legs."

Steam blew out of her ears and a black flame like aura rose from her. "WHAT?"

She tried to jump from the position she was in, but her injured legs kept her from doing so. "Gah," she winced and fell back down to the carpet floor. "Ow!"

"If you need help, just ask.."

"I don't need your help you wind-bag idiot!"

"Harsh aren't we?"

"You're already harsh enough.."

Hayate rolled his eyes to the harsh concept. He knew he was harsh, she didn't have to tell him that he was.

"You are such a tulip-head," Hayate walked over her squirming body to the living room. "Hey, aren't you going to help me," Himeno yelled.

"Mmmm, nah... you said you don't need my help."

"Fine, have it your way!" She continued to squirm to the bathroom the hardest she could without hurting her legs. He continued to watch her make a fool of herself. Himeno only struggled more as she tried harder. She only accomplished by getting out of her room, but she was going nowhere from here.

"Haahhh," Hayate sighed. He couldn't continue to watch a fool do that to herself. Walking back over, he picked her up from the collar and plopped her in the bathroom. Shoving the door closed he said, "There, you're in the bathroom now. Knock when you're finished."

Rubbing her throat continuously she shouted right back at him. "Hey, at least you could have carried me like a normal person instead of choking me out!"

"Whatever."

A few minutes passed and Himeno rapped at the door as she sat lopsided on the tiled floor to prevent pain taking over her legs. "Are you done?"

"Yes, now open the door.."

Hayate did and the door smacked Himeno right in the face. "Ahh!" She fell over holding her face then the pain from her legs greeted her once more. "Ah," she cringed her teeth.

"That's what you get for sitting in front of the door."

"Grrr..." Himeno reached for the door handle so she could sit up; while at it she tried standing up. "You idiot, you'll only hurt yourself," Hayate said with a straight face like he didn't really care at all.

"Shut-up."

Once Himeno got to her feet, of course the drastic pain came back. "You fool, do you want your wounds to re-open?"

"I said shut-up Hayate."

Holding on to the door for dear life, she took one step forward and slipped forward... Luckily, Hayate caught her by the waist in the nick of time.

"I told you that you'll only hurt yourself.."

"You are no help.."

"Oh is that so?" Hayate slowly began to slip his arm away. "Ahhh, no no no! Okay, I give I give, just don't drop me!"

"Humph," Hayate huffed. He picked her up so she wasn't touching the floor and threw her over his shoulder. "How is this carrying someone normally?"

"Don't you want my help or not?"

Himeno crossed her arms glaring at the floor. Not only she wished the attacker had cut her in the upper arms, she wished that Hayate was at least a little considerate to her.

_'Look, I am not at all nice in the real world. I will be hostile towards you in the future.' _The same sentence from before repeated like a broken record player in her head.

"Grrmm," she grunted to herself. 'This jerk will keep treating me like a dog until I find my own place.'

"I'll start looking for a place tomorrow," she spoke out of the blue.

"Why should you? I told you until you get better didn't I?"

"AND you said by the end of this month."

Hayate walked in Himeno's room, took her off his shoulder and sat her down on the bed. "I did... but I meant until you can walk on your own again."

Himeno rolled her eyes, "Please, don't force yourself to be nice, I know that you want me out of here really badly."

"But," Hayate suddenly said.

"But, but what?"

Hayate went to the door again. "I want you to get better," he said before closing the door from behind.


	3. Chapter 3: Strawberry Forgiveness

Chapter 3: Strawberry Forgiveness

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING," Hayate yelled his lungs out. He caught her trying to walk out of her bedroom when her injuries haven't fully healed.

"Don't yell... and what does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to walk again so I can go out and look for a job." Himeno held onto the doorknob to keep her balance.

"I said that you're not going anywhere until you get better!" Hayate felt like his head would explode any second. This was really stupid, no matter how many times he would tell her to do something for her own sake, she does the opposite of what she was told.

"But you really want to kick me out as soon as possible..."

"..." He couldn't respond, because it was the cold truth coming out of her mouth. Hayate **did** want her out, it brought back painful memories for him; memories that should never be spoken of. At first glance, he could tell that she was the sweet little girl he saved as a child, but has she really grown to be this stubborn? He hated stubborn people, this was the last thing he wanted to end up doing: taking care of a stubborn person doing anything to oppose his orders.

'Is she really trying to kill herself,' he rubbed his aching temples. This was a migraine that was going to last forever.

"Look, Tulip-head.."

"I have a name you know," Himeno snapped back.

"Whatever.. Look, what I'm trying to say is: no matter how much I want you out of my life, I can't stand to see anyone being hurt. I would rather man up and do something I don't want to do than to watch someone so helpless suffer."

"So I'm helpless now," Himeno's tone turned from perkiness to disappointment.

"Did you even get the whole point in what I'm trying to squeeze in to your tiny little brain?"

Himeno struggled her legs and turned around towards the bed.

"Now I'm retarded?" She was hoping for Hayate to be a little less cruel towards her. She felt crushed, she longed hoping that if she ever met the boy who saved her again; he would be nice, serene, and sincere. This wasn't what she imagined him to be like in the future. Himeno wished she hadn't even gotten nearly killed by some thug... to be around a nuisance like Hayate: bringing her down and crushing what's left of her pride, she'd rather starve in the rain.

"Don't put words in my mouth."

"What you didn't say said it all." Himeno closed the door and crawled under the comforter of her bed.

'That doesn't even make any sense!' This made him so angry, why couldn't she understand that he was trying to be nice and take care of her?

He demanded to know what made her so freaking upset. Turning the doorknob, he intended to hammer Himeno down with questions, but something stopped him. It was faint... but he could hear weeping beyond the door. Was she crying?

Hayate let his grip loose and slide off the knob and fall to his side. 'I did it again..,' was all that crossed his mind. He stood there staring at the door, feeling the sense of anguish and guilt lingering. He backed up to the wall behind him then slid to the floor only to cuss himself out for his ill temper and use of words.

'What was I thinking? I had no right to say that to her.'

Hayate banged the back of his head to the wall. 'What do I do now?'

Thinking back in the past, he remembered that her breathe smelt like sweet strawberries and also the smell of her cloths. He was surprised he even remembered that. Maybe she liked strawberry sweets, maybe he could make her something to cheer her up from what he said.

It only felt like if he actually fixed what was broken, they both didn't have to get cut from the broken pieces. He rushed to the kitchen and pulled out a cook book. 'I never thought I would be using this one day.'

* * *

><p>"Hey Tulip-head," Hayate knocked on her door.<p>

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you."

"Man you're so stubborn, I'm coming in anyways."

As soon as he stepped in, he caught the flying pillow that was aimed for his face. "I said go away!"

"No." He threw the pillow aside and continued towards her.

"You windbag, do you have crud in your ears?" She backed up until she felt the hard wall behind her. "C'mon here, I wanna show you something."

"No, I don't care what you have to show me!"

This was getting pointless in trying to be nice, he had to use force.

"Hey, what are you doing? No let me down!"

Hayate picked her up off the bed and carried her over his shoulder. "If you're going to carry me, at least do it right!" She whaled her fists around, trying to make the effort in getting down off of his shoulder... which wasn't working at all, he had a tight grip on her.

"Close your eyes," he said calmly.

"Why should I?"

"Just close them already," Hayate was getting irritated.

Himeno groaned in frustration, "Fine."

Closing her eyes, she felt her body shift off of his shoulder and on to a cushioned stool. "Are they closed?"

"Yes, my eyes are closed Hayate."

Hayate opened the fridge and pulled out a dish with a clear glass covering. He closed the fridge and set the dish on the table in front of Himeno.

He lifted the covering and set it aside, "Okay, open your eyes."

Himeno opened her eyes and almost started drooling in happiness. A cake stood in her presence, with white cream cream cheese frosting and a little washed strawberry placed on top.

"Hayate, you made this," she asked in amazement.

A little blush crept on his cheek; he couldn't deny that he was a good cook and baker. "Yeah.."

"It looks so good! What's the occasion?"

He stood there silent, a little afraid to speak out the wrong words. "L..look, I'm no good in communicating well with people..."

"I've noticed," Himeno cut him off.

"Shut up and let me speak."

"Go ahead your majesty," Himeno said like a smart alack.

Hayate groaned at her stupid comment before he continued. "I've had a hard time communicating with people because of the hardships I went through til today. I made this cake in hoping you would forgive my running mouth and short temper."

"Are you trying to say sorry?"

"That is my intention." Himeno was flabbergasted by his response. This was actually the first time he had been trying act sincere towards her other than being a total jerk. Hayate set two plates on the table with two forks. He took out a knife from the drawer and started cutting away at the cake; a slice for Himeno and a slice for himself.

The strawberry aroma of the cake smelt so sweet and creamy. It was so hard for Himeno to hold herself back, since strawberry was her favorite.

"How'd you know strawberry was my favorite?"

"Just a little memory of you smelling like sweets and strawberries."

Himeno picked up her fork and dove it in to the cake, scooping up a piece to her mouth. The taste buds of her tongue began to dance as she chewed the sweetness of the cake and swallowed it down her throat.

"Oh my God, this is so good!" Himeno never felt happier, the smile on her face only began to grow as she ate more of the cake.

Hayate caught himself in awe of Himeno's smile. Was it just him, or did she seem really pretty during this moment?

"Hayate!" Hayate snapped back to the real world, only to feel his face burn with embarrassment. "You should try some Hayate, you really are good at making these kind of things."

Himeno noticed Hayate's face turning red and she couldn't help but to feel embarrassed as well. "W..well uh...um, the cake is really good. I didn't know that you had it in you," Himeno moved her gaze from Hayate to the cake. She felt so weird, this was getting a little awkward.

Hayate turned to his slice too, trying to calm himself down before he did anything he would regret doing. 'What's wrong with me? She only smiled..'

"Well anyways Hayate... I forgive you."

He looked up at her in shock. "Why are you making that face?"

"Oh nothing, just go back to eating your cake."

"Whatever you say your highness."

"Shut up Tulip-head."


	4. Chapter 4: Top and Bottom

Chapter 4: Top and Bottom

It's been a week since Himeno had her stitches taken out and it was a pain in the butt for not being able to walk for the past 6 weeks. Yes, 6 weeks... It's been two weeks past the time she was suppose to get a job, but she wasn't able to go anywhere. All because Hayate was lecturing her to stay inside the apartment until her stitches came off.

"Well, I got my stitches off.. when am I going to go look for a job?"

Hayate looked at her like she was stupid.

"When I feel like you should go out."

"WHAT? You clearly said, 'Himeno, you can go out and find a job as soon as your stitches come off.' Unless I'm deaf, but since I'm not; that's what you told me."

Hayate turned the other way and walked towards his room.

"Hey, don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!"

"Oh, did you say something?"

'Is he trying to pick a fight with me,' Himeno rose a fist, clearly wanting to punch his jaw out. "You better not be ignoring me you windbag!"

And yet, no response escaped his lips. "You were a lot nicer when we were little, what the heck happened to you now?"

"Cmon Tulip-head, we've got to get you to start walking again," Hayate said, coming back in the room without a thought with what Himeno just said.

"Don't call me that!"

She wanted to stand up and give him a piece of her mind, but with no strength in her legs, she was afraid to stand up without losing her balance. Then something caught her attention to what Hayate had brought back with him.

"Hayate..."

"What?"

Himeno continued to stare at the objects he was holding out in front of her.

"Why do you have crutches with you?" Like that question wasn't stupid enough, he did say that he was going to help her with walking again.

"How dumb are you?"

Himeno took a crutch and whacked him in the shin. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR," he grabbed his throbbing leg.

"Excuse me, I didn't hear you. Can you repeat that again," Himeno smiled mischievously with the crutch in hand. Sweat bulbs began to form on Hayate's face; he knew that she was violent, but to use a weapon? Dang, she has guts.

Hayate stood back up, ignoring the sharp pain in his let leg. "They're for you to use. You wanna get a job right? Use these to get back to walking again."

"Hayate..," Himeno stood there speechless.

Was it just her or did he seem nicer somehow?

"Why are you staring at me like that for?"

Just out of curiosity, Himeno carefully reached her hand up and touched Hayate's forehead. "W-what are you doing," he couldn't helped but get embarrassed.

"Do you have a fever," Himeno asked.

"N..no."

"Then why do you seem a lot nicer."

Hayate lightly smacked away her hand, "I'm trying to be nice cause I pity you."

"Why the heck are you pitying me?"

"Everyone needs to be pitied sometimes."

"But that makes me feel a lot lower than I am now."

"I'm sorry that you feel that way," Hayate said to get a kick out of her anger. "I don't need you to feel sorry for nothing!"

Himeno picked up the crutches under her arms and started to practice walking out of the bedroom. Although she failed miserbly, by falling on the first step.

"Oww, that hurt."

"Your stitches might've came out, but that doesn't mean you aren't going to be walking again right off the bat."

"Thanks for telling me Captain Obvious." Like she needed anymore crud out of him for one day. He was marely the pain in the neck other than her legs.  
>"So are we going to find me a job today," Himeno asked.<br>Hayate scratched his head and looked away. "Not today," he scratched the back of his head.  
>"And why not?"<p>

"Because I'm taking you out shopping."  
>Himeno crunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do we need to go shopping?"<br>Hayate groaned from all the questions being asked. "The second time I checked your cloths, most of them were all cut up."

"WHAT? I thought you said they were all safe!"

"I... meant by that nothing had been taken."

"Then what am I going to wear in the mean time? I've only been wearing borrowed cloths from the hired nurse."

Hayate pointed to her yellow suitcase under the bed. "Find whatever is decent."

Himeno sighed, "Fine."

"Be ready in a few minutes," Hayate said as he closed the door from behind him.

Himeno couldn't help but to smile, "Yes!"  
>She jumped on to her bed and started to laugh. This was going to be a great day for her.<br>"I can finally go out now!"  
>The something popped in her head. 'I wonder where Hayate works at. He must have a lot of money because this place is huge.'<p>

Carefully looking under the bed, she pulled out her suitcase. She opened it to reveal disaster. When Hayate said that most of her cloths were all cut up, he wasn't lying.

She had to do something to make them look decent. So Himeno took one of her jeans and a grey t-shirt and threw it on to the bed. Luckily, she had sewing shears in one of the zippers of her suitcase. She took the shears and she started to cut away at the fabric; turning the jeans into shorts and the t-shirt a half shirt. The bottom of each piece of clothing was rolled up so the ends that were cut won't come undone. Himeno was happy that she at least had a pink undershirt that didn't get cut up. She would really need it for the half-shirt.

Rushing in to dressing herself, Himeno managed to get everything on within 5 minutes.

Suddenly there was a knock at her door. "Hey are you ready yet?"

"Yeah, give me a second!"

"Hurry up before I change my mind!"

Himeno growled, 'Will his personality ever change?'  
>She finished tying her shoes and she grabbed her crutches and lifted them under her amrs. "Okay I'm coming out," she said as she tried to walk over to the door.<br>Hayate opened the door and Himeno almost fell over... again.  
>"You're gonna need to balance yourself." He steadied her on the crutches properly without letting her fall. "Now bring the crutches forward," he said as he held on to her from behind. "Then slowly walk." He instructed her to walk forward slowly. 'Woah, is it just me or is Hayate really too close to me?' Himeno couldn't help but to smell the great aroma of his cologne. "Um, can I ask you something Hayate?"<p>

"What is it?"

"You're... a little bit too close to me." The sentence finally got to him when he noticed that his arms were wrapped around hers. Ge gasped and pulled away without any hesitation. "Don't take it the wrong way, you know I still don't get along with your kind."

"That makes feel so special," Himeno said sarcastically. She slowly rose the crutches forward then let them touch the floor before she started to walk. "Alright I'm doing it," she said as she kept up a slow pace. "Well if you want to get to the car, you're gonna need to go at a faster pace."

"You drive," she asked while concentrating on her fast pace. "Well no duh, I'm 21."

"I know that much."

"Then why ask such a stupid question," he said as he held the front door open. "Because not every 21 year old is going to have a driver's license."

"Well how do you think I got you here in the first place?"

"True...," Himeno sighed. They walked down the hallway on the 105th floor of the apartment complex and pressed the button next to the elevator door to go down. As soon as the doors opened, Himeno walked in first and then followed Hayate. Himeno pressed the 1st floor button and watched the elevator doors close with a "Ding."

'Dang, how many floors up were we,' she thought when the ride was taking to long. Then she glanced at Hayate a little bit, getting to know all the pieces of attire he was wearing. A black leather jacket open to reveal a white button down polo, with navy blue jeans and black shoes. Now that she thought about it, Hayate was a really hot guy. How come she never really bothered to notice more of this side of him? When she first met him this way, he was really attractive, but his attitude ruined the most of it. 'God, I'm thinking too much,' she shook her head violently to prevent herself from blushing. Hayate saw her shaking her head and all he thought was, 'What the heck is wrong with her?'

The elevator door opened and Hayate and Himeno walked right out. By surprise, the female workers and residents began to swarm up around Hayate like bees, desperately asking for a date or his cell phone number. 'I see why he doesn't get along with girls,' a sweat bulb formed on the back of Himeno's head. Grunting to herself in exhaustion, she walked away like nothing happened.

Five minutes later, Hayate finally broke away from the crowd of girls and walked away with a cool, non-caring gesture. He walked up to Himeno and she looked like she wanted to ask something. "If you want to say something, say it now."

Himeno irked at his irritated mood. "Fine... how come the girls were all coming at you like magnets?" Hayate ignored her question and continued to walk to his blue Mitsubishi 2011 Eclipse. "Hey, why aren't you answering!"

He completely ignored her question again.

"Just get in to the car already," he said as he opened the driver side door which was on the right side of the car. "Fine..." Himeno worked her way to the other side of the car.

"Where are we going," Himeno asked as Hayate put the car on drive.

"The mall where else?"

"They have a mall here?"

"That's a dumb question for me to answer."

Himeno growled at Hayate's ignorance. If he wasn't driving right now, she would've punched him in the face. "Well I've never been to a mall!"

"You're joking right? What girl that lives in Tokyo hasn't been to a mall?"

"I feel like you're making fun of me," Himeno wrapped her arms across her chest. "I am," he said bluntly.

"You're a jerk you know that," Himeno snapped back.

"So I've been told."

"YEAH BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE," Himeno yelled.

"Keep your voice down," Hayate sighed. "This is exactly why I despise girls; they are so loud and demanding."

That sentence struck Himeno right in the gut. Yeah, he has said some hurtful words in the past, but not as bad as now. She just started to like him as a friend too, but it only seems that will never come true if he actually hated her.

"If you despise girls then what is the point in doing all this stuff for me," Himeno looked down at her legs. "If you hate me, then why don't you just stop where you are and kick me out of the car and back on the street? I thought we were friends!"

"Oh jeez, will you shut up," Hayate snapped. Himeno clutched to her jeans, preparing for the worst. "Why should I?"

"Because you should know better."

"What?"

Hayate sighed once more, "You're an acception Himeno."

Himeno was confused, "I don't understand."

"Jeez Himeno, I accept you!"

Himeno couldn't help but to feel happy all of a sudden. 'Why am I happy to just hear him say that?'

She smiled to herself and giggled. "WHAT, is so funny?"

"I'm glad to here that you at least consider me."

"Dang... I swear that you're bipolar sometimes..." They finally got to the mall in the Ginza district and pulled in to a parking space that was the closest they could find to the mall.

"Okay get out," Hayate said as he turned off the car and opened the his door.

"Can I have some help out?"

"You can learn on your own. If you can get in the car, you can get out."

"Fine," Himeno growled under her breath. She opened the car door open and placed her first crutch outside the car on the concrete. Then she lifted her legs and brought over her other crutch. Trying to stand, she lost her balance and fell forward, hitting her head on the car in front of her. "Himeno," Hayate pulled her up to stand. "I'm okay," Himeno smiled. A river of blood trailed down her face and Hayate gasped.

"Blood," Himeno touch it with her finger and looked at her hand. "You idiot!"

"What did I do," Himeno yelled back. "Gahhhh," Hayate groaned out of frustration. He reached in the car and opened the glove-box that had wet tissues and band-aids. Wiping off the excess blood, he placed a band aid on the small wound on her forehead.

"There, now don't do anything stupid."

"You're the one who told me to get out of the car myself!"

"I'll help you next time!"

Hayate closed the car door and propped Himeno back on her crutches. "Let's go."

Hayate walked off with Himeno following right behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, I don't know long it's been since I last updated on this story. But I'm glad I did. Sorry for the long wait guys, thank you for being patient!<strong>

**God Bless,**

**CherryBlossom210**


	5. Chapter 5: Oh Brother (Part 1)

Chapter 5: Oh Brother.. Part 1

Himeno's POV  
>Walking through the mall with Hayate feels slightly more akward than walking through the mall with a preppy girl. Why you ask? Every girl that we passed by was looking at him as if they were in a dream and glared at me with death in their eyes. This wasn't a pleasant feeling at all. I don't see what they see in a windbag like him. He may have the looks, but he can brush away people with a sweep of a broom from how bad his personality was. Hayate is not the "perfect" man that everyone reveries about.<p>

Three beatiful women suddenly walk up, "Hey handsome, you want to ditch this crip and come along with us?"  
>"What did you just call me?"<br>"Shut it, we're not talking to you." Then I felt a vein pop up in my neck. 'She just did not say that.'  
>Hayate ignored the womens' insults and comments and walked right around them. "Hey wait for me!" I picked up my pace a little bit more. I looked behind me and the three women were looking annoyed. I laughed under my breath and stuck my tongue at them as they squealed with anger.<br>"Hehe.."

Normal POV

"I don't see what they see in you," Himeno quickly spoke.

Hayate didn't reply and continued to walk. "I mean your personality is nothing better than an anime character that has good looks but a bad mouth."

"So you're comparing me to something that's fiction?"

"Yeah, you got a problem?"

Hayate looked away, "Not really."

"Thought so, you really don't care much of what I have to say anyways." Hayate ignored her once again and stopped in front of a clothes shop called Rue21.

"Why are we here?"

"You like this kind of stuff don't you?"

Himeno nodded and thought about it for a second, "Wait, I don't want you to spend your money for my cloths."

Hayate walked in to the store with Himeno behind him. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Tulip-head, I had that intention as soon as we walked out of my apartment."

'Why does he keep calling me that?'

Himeno stood there feeling dumbfounded. "But.. I feel bad whenever someone buys something for me with their money."

"I'm doing this because I want to, not because I have to."

Himeno gasped in astonishment. Hayate only seemed to be nice under a hard edge. Was this truly Hayate himself?

"Are you going to stand there? Go on and look around. I'll buy you whatever you pick out."

"Umm... okay." Himeno picked up her crutches and started to walk over to the girls' side of the store. Himeno went to the jeans section to pick out her favorite kind of jeans. She pulled out flared and skinny jeans and tossed it on to her shoulder. Hayate stood at the entrance of the store, watching Himeno browse around freely, picking out things and hanging it on her shoulder.

Himeno looked somewhat happy as if she was in her own world. "Hayate may not be that bad of a guy," Himeno whispered to herself as she continued looking at t-shirts. She disappeared in to the dressing room with two jeans, three t-shirts, and a plaid belt. "Are you sure you can get in to those clothes on your own," Hayate sat down in the dressing room lobby, waiting outside of the room Himeno was in. "If I can get my cloths on earlier, I can get them on now." She slipped on a black t-shirt with colorful peace signs going diagonally across to the bottom and she sat down and pulled on the flared jeans to her thighs and rolled up the bottoms. Himeno stood up on her crutches and pulled the jeans all the way up and she buttoned the button, zipped up the zipper, and also pulled the belt through the loops. She sat back down and rolled the bottoms back down to her ankles.

Getting back up, Himeno opened the door to reveal her new outfit. "Um.. how do I look?" The girl looked in to the mirror beside her, satisfied with her cloths.

"Same, but different."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

Himeno shot Hayate an angry glare. "Are you done picking out clothes," Hayate said, changing the subject.

"Y-yeah," Himeno nodded. "Get your original clothes back on, I'll go pay." Himeno did as he said and walked back out with her new clothes hanging on her shoulder. Hayate snatched up the cloths and carried them to the counter. "That will be 4,000¥," the cashier said. **(A/N: 4,000 yen equals to 49 dollars in the U.S.)**

Hayate pulled out his debit card and slid it down the card reader. He pressed in some numbers and signed his signature on the screen. He finally pressed "enter" and the receipt started to print out next to the register's monitor. The woman tore the receipt out and gave Hayate the store bag containing Himeno's cloths. "Thank you for shopping here," the woman said as she also gave Hayate the receipt.

Himeno noticed that the woman was some what blushing while giving Hayate the bag. 'Even the cashier...'

"Ready to go," Hayate asked.

Himeno popped back to reality, "Oh.. yeah."

They both walked out of the store and Hayate gasped when a familiar person happened to catch his eye from another store. With out any hesitation, Hayate began to storm the opposite direction.

"Hayate wait for me," Himeno tried to catch up to him. "Wait, is that you Hayate," a voice yelled out from behind them. Recognizing the voice oh too well, Hayate began to walk faster than he was before. "Wait, Hayate," the voice came closer and closer. Himeno looked behind her, trying to figure out what was making Hayate like this. A man with short hair as white as snow and eyes as purple as amethyst, was working his way up to them. Himeno suddenly felt her face beam hot. She never seen a man as handsome as that before... well other than Hayate. "Hey Hayate, I think that guy wants to talk to you."

"Just ignore him," Hayate whispered to her.

'Someones in an angry mood,' Himeno said to herself.

Without looking where he was going, Hayate bumped in to a man a little taller than him, but complexion of a younger look. His hair had the look of fire, with dark red streaks in brown and the style seemed to stand up like a flame.

"Hey watch where you're going," the man yelled.

The man looked down and his eyes seemed to pop open in surprise. "Hayate? Is that you?"

Hayate froze in shock, 'Oh God, not him too.' There was no way that they remember him from all of these years. Not now, it can't be now.

"Hayate, do you know these people," Himeno huffed and puffed to catch up to him.

"So it is you Hayate!"

"Himeno," Hayate yelled and she flinched.

"What? Can't you answer a simple question," Himeno pretended to look angry. Hayate hit his forehead with his palm and slid it down to his jaw.

"Hayate," the man with white hair caught up to the group. Hayate's face began to sweat out of anxiety and frustration. He never planned to ever meet these guys again for years since he last saw them. But things seemed to change for him very quickly.

"Hi Sasame...," he sighed.

"It's been so long, when you left I thought that was going to be it," Goh smiled. 'That was my intention,' Hayate thought to himself. Goh gave him a quick hug that caught Hayate off guard.

Hayate stiffened and lightly pushed Goh away. "Please don't touch me Goh."

"Aww, c'mon, we're brothers. How can we not hug?"

"Brothers?" Himeno was in awe to know more about these "brothers".

"Oh God...," Hayate sighed. "I really don't want to go in to details about this Himeno."

"But I want to know more about these brothers of yours," Himeno said with glimmering eyes that were hard to say no to.

"But Himeno..." Hayate sighed again.

Himeno continued to sparkle her eyes as she begged to learn more.

"Fine..." Hayate said as he gave in.

"Yay," Himeno cheered as she raised her crutches in the air without thinking.

"You idi-!"

"Ahh!" Hayate was cut off as Himeno already fell to the floor in a cry of pain.

"I could've told you not to do that Tulip-head."

"Thanks for the concern," Himeno gave Hayate a little of a stern look. "Are you okay Miss Himeno," Sasame bent down to give Himeno a hand.

"Thank you sir," Himeno smiled as he helped her get back on her feet. "Why so formal? Just call me Sasame."

"Okay, thank you Sasame," Himeno rephrased as a little tint of blush went across her face. Hayate caught the tint of Himeno's red cheeks and didn't know why he felt a little angry to see her blush.

"No problem Miss Himeno," Sasame smiled back.

"Hehehe," Himeno giggled.

"Grrrr," Hayate growled as he turned his back to the three. He didn't like the looks of what he was watching. 'Why do I feel angry all of a sudden,' Hayate thought to himself. 'Whatever, this whole thing is ticking me off.'

'What's with him,' Goh thought. His mind processed slowly, trying to figure out the answer to Hayate's sudden attitude. Then it came to him. "Ohhhh I see now," Goh chuckled to himself?

"What," Himeno asked.

"Nothing you need to be worried about Ms. Himeno. How about some lunch?"

"Okay!" Himeno cheered with agreement as she slowly worked her way following the group to the food court.


End file.
